Radial drilling machine



Feb. 26, 1963 c. L. REICHERT ET AL RADIAL DRILLING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 5, 1961 Z a 0 2 m m p wz i MW Mm +Z7MYO n 0. M A 6 9 a m. m. m NW i w F fv w/ I WW Feb- 26, 196 I c. L. REICHERT ET AL 3,078,741

RADIAL DRILLING MACHINE S SheetS-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 5, 1961 wmw Feb. 26, 1963 c. 1.. REICHERT ET AL 3,078,741

RADIAL DRILLING MACHINE Filed Sept. 5, 1961' 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 3 (1.29%4, & QM

Feb. 26, 1963 c. REICHERT ET AL 3,078,741

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RADIAL DRILLING MACHINE Filed Sept 5, 1961 5 Sheets-She s}; 5

tates The present invention relates to radial drilling machines and more particularly to headstocks and controls for radial drilling machines.

One object of the present invention is to provide a radial drilling machine headstock having improved gear shifting and indicating mechanisms. Another object is to provide an improved headstock of the foregoing character in which the mechanisms are simple and inexpensive to produce and are rugged and reliable in operation.

A further object is to provide a headstock gear shifting mechanism of the foregoing character which is easily accessible during assembly and servicing.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a gear shifting and indicating mechanism of the foregoing character in which the indicating mechanism is actuated directly by the gear shifting mechanism for accuracy of indication.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of a radial drilling machine headstock embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view of a cutting speed indicator dial forming a part of the headstock shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view of a spindle feed indicator dial forming a part of the headstock shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a section view, taken substantially in the plane of line 44 on FIG. 1, illustrating a gear shifting mechanism embodying the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section view illustrating a portion of the gear shifting mechanism shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a section view taken substantially in the plane of line 6-6 on FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevation view illustrating the connection between the indicator mechanism and the gear shifting mechanism shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the gear shifting mechanism shown in FIG. 4.

While a certain illustrative embodiment of the present invention has been shown in the drawings and will be described below in considerable detail, it should be understood that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, equivalents, and uses falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Radial drilling machines of the character on which the present invention is embodied are well known in the art and comprise a headstock 10 carrying a vertical spindle 11 and supported for translation on a radial arm 12 which is in turn carried by a vertical column (not shown) supported on a floor or base (not shown). The tool head or headstock It is carried by ways 14 on the arm 12 and power is provided to the headstock either through an integrally contained motor or through a motor mounted on the column or arm 12. The head 10 is fully enclosed and houses a gear transmission for rotating and feeding the tool spindle 11. The drive from the motor to the spindle includes appropriate shafts and gearing (not shown) all of which is conventional in the art. To shift the gearing to provide the various selected speeds and feeds of the spindle, gear shifter shoes, shown at 15-19 ate "ice

on FIG. 8 are provided for shifting the gears of the transmission into various selected combinations.

The present invention is embodied in a novel gear shifting arrangement for actuating the shifters 15-19 and comprises a series of lever mechanisms each actuated by one of a plurality of handles 20, 21 and 22 projecting from the headstock as shown in FIG. 1. To indicate the position of the gear shifters 1519, there is coupled directly to the gear shift lever mechanisms actuated by the handles 2122, appropriate indicators the construction of which is illustrated in FIG. 7, which indicators appear on the face of the headstock as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

In keeping with one aspect of the invention, the headstock 10', as shown in FIG. 4, is organized in such manner that those components which may require servicing or adjustment, such as the various clutches, change gears and the like are located in smaller, readily accessible compartments separate from the main compartment which houses the spindle and quill. To this end the headstock housing is formed essentially in three parts, a lower spindle carrying portion 24 having a fiat upper surface 25 on which is supported a generally rectangular oil sump compartment 26. This compartment extends rearwardly over the arm 12 to form an extension to which a drive transfer case 28 is secured. The top surface 29 of the oil sump compartment is machined flat and so that it receives and supports a speed and feed transmission housing 30. The transmission housing is relatively thin in its vertical section so that all boring and other machining operations required to produce it may be accomplished efliciently and accurately using automatically controlled processes and machines. As a result, long lines of axial bores requiring precision alinement, as were common in prior headstocks, are eliminated. The speed change gears, shafts, bearings and clutches for speed and feed transmission-s are supplied with oil from the sump compartment 26, such components not being illustrated in the present instance. The shafts for those transmissions are kept short, however, in order that the housing 30 is thin in vertical section.

The gear shifting mechanism embodying the present invention is constructed so as to reduce to a minimum the amount of precision machining in the headstock necessary to accommodate the gear shift mechanism. Moreover, the shifter rods or linkages are disposed within vertical side channels or compartments (see FIGS. 5, 4 and 1) located on the sides of thevheadstock compartments 24, 2'6 and housing 30 so that removable side panels 27 facilitate the assembly and adjustment of such linkages without requiring access to the main compartment. To this end, the mechanism embodies self-alining type bearings such as ball and socket bearings supporting shifter rods and shafts. Referring first to the shifter mechanism for shifting the spindle feed gears in the transmission, with the various spindle feed rates identified by the indicator shown at 32 in FIGS. 1 and 3, means are provided for actuating the gear shifters 18 and 19 in response to movements of the handle 22. One illustrative means for this purpose embodying the present invention is shown in FIG. 8, and comprises a control lever 34, to which the handle 22 is attached, universally mounted for a combination of rotary and oscillatory movements by means of a spherical bearing 35 (FIG. 5). The bearing 35 is secured to the housing 24 by means of a socket fitting 36 threadably mounted in a bracket 38 secured to the housing 34.

V The control lever 34 etxends through an elongated vertical slot 39 in the housing cover, and the spherical bearing and slot serve to constrain the lever to oscillate in a vertical plane and rotate about the longitudinal axis of the lever.

Means are provided for coupling the lever 34 with the gear shifters 18, 19. One illustrative means comprises a 3 generally U-shaped member or yoke 46 secured to the inner end of the lever 34 so as to straddle the spherical bearing 35 and locked to thelever 34 by a pin 41. As the lever 34 rotates, the yoke 40 likewise is rotated about the spherical bearing center 35.

In order to actuate gear shifter 19, the handle 22 and the lever 35 are desirably oscillated in a vertical plane by pivoting the handle about the center of the spherical bearing 35. For this purpose the lever 34 is provided, at a point spaced from the spherical bearing 35, with a second spherical bearing 42 which engages a socket 44 fixed at one end of a connecting link 45. The free end of the connecting link 45 is coupled, by means of a ball joint 47, to an arm 46 fixed on one end of a shaft 48, the other end of which has a similar arm 49 fixed to a link 50 which in turn engages an arm 51 on a shaft 52 to which the shifter 19 is aifixed. It will be appreciated that by swinging the handle 22 in a vertical plane, the shifter 19 is, through the connecting linkages, likewise shifted in a vertical plane thereby to shift the associated gears (not shown).

To shift the gear shifter 18, the U-shaped yoke 46 includes projecting extensions or legs 54, 55 to which is secured, by means of a pin 56 extending between such extensions, a spherical bearing 58 which engages a socket 59 attached at one end to a connecting link 60. By rotating the handle 22 to which the yoke 40 is afiixed, the spherical bearing 58 and link 60 will be rotated about the center of the main spherical bearing 35 and thus the link 60 will be moved in a generally vertical direction. To actuate the shifter 18, the link 60 is connected by means of a ball and socket joint 63 to an arm 61 on a shaft 62, which in turn is coupled, through a shaft arm 64 and connecting link 65, to an arm 66 on a shaft 68 to which the shifter 18 is affixed. Thus, as the handle 22 is rotated the connecting link 60 and thereby the shifter 18 will be moved in a generally vertical direction. At the same time, because the shaft is supported in the center spherical bearing 35, it will be appreciated that rotation of the handle 22 will not affect the position of the connecting link 45 and thus the shifter 19.

It will be appreciated that the yoke and spherical bearings provide a universal coupling between the handle 22 and the shifter shoes 18 and 19 which may be used to adjust two sets of speed gears. V

In order to indicate the position of the gear shifters, and thereby the selected gear settings, an indicator mechanism is desirably provided coupled to the shifter mechanism. One illustrative mechanism is shownin FIG. 7 and comprises extensions 79, 71 of the yoke 40 opposite the extensions 54, 55 supporting a pin 72 which extends between these extensions and engages in a slot 74 in a block 75 to which is affixed a pointer arm 76. At the free end of the arm 76 is a pointer 78 which depends in front of the indicator scale 32 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Upon rotation of the handle 22 and thereby the yoke 40, the indicator 73 will be moved in a generally vertical direction. Also, upon vertical movement of the handle 22 which swings the yoke 40 about the central spherical bearing 35, the indicator 78 will swing back and forth across the indicator scale 32. A simple, yet rugged and accurate, indicator is thus provided which accurately indicates the position of the control lever and thereby of the gear shifters 18 and 19. For constraining the pointer 76 and block 75 for limited pivotal and axial motion a strap 80 is provided which is secured to the bracket 38 by appropriate fastening means (not shown).

The speed gear shifting mechanism by which the handle 21 is coupled to shifter shoes 16 and 17 is basically similar to that of the spindle feed transmission shifter mechanism described above. Briefly, the handle 21 is afiixed to a lever 82 which is supported by a central spherical bearing 84 in a socket 85 secured to a bracket 86. The lever 82 carries aflixed thereto in the same manner as described above, a yoke 88 having substantially the same construction as the yoke 40. In order to actuate one of the shifter 4 shoes 17 by vertical movement of the handle 21, a link 89 is affixed between the shaft 82, and a bell crank 90, by spherical bearings 91, 92. The bell crank 90 is connected to a link 94 attached to an arm 95 which is in turn affixed to a shifter shoe shaft 96 to which the shifter shoe 17 is attached.

'In a manner similar to that described above, the shifter shoe 16 is aifixed to the yoke 88 by means of a connecting link 8 having one end attached to the yoke 88 by a spherical bearing 99, and the other end attached to an arm 10-51 by a spherical bearing 10-1. The arm 100 is in turn affixed to a shifter shaft 162 to which is fastened the shifter shoe 16.

For purposes of indicating the position of the shifter shoes 16 and 17, an indicator pointer 104 is attached to the yoke in the same manner as the indicator pointer 78 described above. Essentially, this includes a block 105 having a slot which engages a pin 108 in the yoke. It will be appreciated that movement of the handle 21 in a vertical direction shifts the shifter shoe 17 through the link 39, while rotation of the handle 21 shifts the shifter shoe 16 through the yoke and link 98.

The selected spindle speed, which is determined by the position of the shifter shoes 16 and 17, is indicated on an indicator shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and indicated generally by the numeral 110. The spindle speed transmission of a radial drill conventionally includes a high and a low cutting speed range and to shift between these ranges, a shifter shoe 15 is provided which is actuated by the handle 20 and a linkage mechanism. This mechanism includes an arm 112 to which the handle 20 is attached, secured to a shaft 114 mounted in the housing, operatively engaged through a link 115 with an arm 116 and a shifter shaft and arm 118, 119 to the shifter shoe 15. The high low cutting speed handle 20 is conveniently keyed to the cutting speed indicator 110 by a color chart or other indicator derive shown generally at 120 on FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 2, for example, the low cutting speed indicator has been shaded. The handle 120 when adjacent the shaded portion indicates immediately to the machine operator that only the shaded portions of the indicator 110 should be observed.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a machine tool, including a headstock having gear shifter shoes therein, the combination comprising a control shaft, means supporting such shaft for rotary movement and swinging movement in at least one plane, and means coupling said shaft to said shoes for selectively shifting the same when said shaft is moved.

2. In a machine tool including a headstock having gear shifter shoes therein, a mechanism for shifting said shoes comprising, in combination, a control shaft, a ball support having an aperture journaling said shaft for rotation, means supporting said ball on the headstock for swinging movement so that the said shaft can be swung in at least one plane, and means including links coupling said shaft to said shoes for selectively shifting the same when said shaft is moved.

3. In a machine tool, including a headstock having gear shifter shoes therein, a mechanism for shifting said shoes comprising, in combination, a control shaft, means supporting said shaft for rotary movement and for swinging movement in at least one plane, a U-shaped yoke straddling said support means and affixed to said shaft, means including a ball and socket joint fixed to said yoke at a point remote from said shaft operatively coupling said yoke to a shifter shoe so that rotation of said shaft moves said shifter shoe, and means including ball and socket joints fixed between said shaft and a shifter shoe so that swinging movement of said shaft in a vertical plane shifts said shoe.

4. In a machine tool including a headstock having at least a pair of gear shifter shocs, mechanism for shifting said shoes comprising, in combination, a control shaft, means supporting said shaft in said headstock for rotation and for movement in at least one plane, means coupling said shaft to said shoes for moving one of said shoes when said shaft is rotated and for moving the other of said shoes when said shaft is moved in a vertical plane, and means for indicating the position of said shaft.

5. In a machine tool including a headstock having gear shifter shoes therein, in a mechanism for shifting said shoes and indicating the position thereof comprising, in combination, a control shaft, means supporting said shaft for rotary movement and swinging movement in at least one plane, means coupling said shaft to said shoes for selectively shifting the same when said shaft is moved, and means including a yoke fixed to said shaft for movement therewith and an indicator pointer mounted on said yoke for movement therewith when said shaft is moved to in dicate the position of said shifter shoes.

6. A machine tool headstock comprising, in combination, a lower housing portion supporting a tool spindle for rotary and axial feed motions, said housing portion having a flat top surface, a generally rectangular oil sump compartment on said flat top surface, said oil sump compartment having a fiat top surface, a speed and feed transmission housing surmounting said oil sump compartment, speed and feed gear shifting controls mounted in said lower housing, and linkage means extending between said control mechanisms in the lower housing and said transmission in the upper housing for controlling the feed and speed transmission, said linkages including ball and socket joints and said linkages extending substantially along one side of said housing.

7. In a machine tool including a headstock having gear shifter shoes therein, a mechanism for shifting said shoes comprising, in combination, a control shaft, means supporting said shaft for rotary movement and for swinging movement in at least one plane, means coupling said shaft to said shoes for selectively shifting the same when said shaft is moved, a generally U-shaped yoke fixed to said shaft and straddling said supporting means, an extension on said yoke projecting laterally therefrom and including a pin extending generally parallel to said shaft, an indicator pointer, a block afifixed to one end of said pointer and having a slot therein for engaging said pin so that said indicator is moved vertically when said shaft is rotated and said indicator is swung in a direction corresponding to the direction of swinging movement of said shaft as the latter is swung in vertical plane, and an indicator scale associated with the free end of said indicator pointer for use in indicating the position of said control shaft.

8. A radial drill headstock comprising, in combination, a main housing defining a spindle compartment containing an axially feedable, rotatable spindle and having a first upper support surface thereon, an oil sump housing defining an oil sump compartment and having a second upper support surface, said sump housing being fixed to and supported by said first upper support surface, and a gearing housing defining a compartment containing speed change transmissions for rotating and feeding said spindle, said gear housing being fixed to and supported by said second upper support surface.

9. A machine tool headstock comprising, in combination, a main housing defining a spindle compartment containing an axially feedable, rotatable spindle, a gear housing defining a compartment containing speed change transmissions for rotating and feeding said spindle, means supporting said gear housing in superposed relation on said main housing, a housing portion formed on the side of said main housing, said gear housing and said housing portion defining a substantially vertical channel, transmission shifting linkages disposed in said channel and extending upwardly into said gear housing, and control members projecting through the lower portion of said housing portion and connecting with said linkages for actuating the latter.

10. A machine tool headstock comprising, in combination, a main housing defining a main compartment containing a vertically disposed, rotatable and axially feedable spindle, said main compartment having a flat upper surface, a sump housing defining an oil sump compartment supported on said upper surface, a gear housing supported on the upper portion of said sump housing and being shaped to have a vertical dimension relatively small to its length and width dimensions, and speed change gearing in said gear housing having gear shafts vertically disposed and supported in relatively short bores defined in that housing.

No references cited. 

1. IN A MACHINE TOOL, INCLUDING A HEADSTOCK HAVING GEAR SHIFTER SHOES THEREIN, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A CONTROL SHAFT, MEANS SUPPORTING SUCH SHAFT FOR ROTARY MOVEMENT AND SWINGING MOVEMENT IN AT LEAST ONE PLANE, AND MEANS COUPLING SAID SHAFT TO SAID SHOES FOR SELECTIVELY SHIFTING THE SAME WHEN SAID SHAFT IS MOVED. 